13 Best Delicious Filipino Food That You Must Try

Filipino food might not be as famous as that of its Vietnamese and Thai neighbors. It almost seems too simple to say that the Philippines is a beautiful country to visit. But, have you ever thought about what makes this place more interesting? Well, Filipino has an exceptional love for food. 

The normal Filipino day consists of three meals, and every meal contains at least a cup of rice. This country is blessed with plenty of tropical fruit, seafood, and creative cooks. From the tasty adobo to the delicious tapa, you will never forget the aroma and taste of Filipino food. So in this article, we have shared some of the best Filipino foods to try out.

What is Filipino Food?

Filipino food is referred to as the original fusion cuisine. Filipino dishes draw inspiration from Malaysian, Spanish, Japanese, Indian, American, and Chinese cultures. They are connecting the gap between the world’s favorite flavors. You will find generally salty, sour, and sweet ingredients to accommodate nearly every plate. 

Best Filipino Foods for Everyone To Try

Adobo

No Filipino food list would be complete without adobo. It is a famous Filipino dish—the mighty adobo. It is made with chicken or pork in vinegar and soy sauce, adding bay leaves and peppercorns for that special flavor.

Lumpia

This dish is influenced by Chinese cuisine; this dish is a tasty deep-fried spring roll. The roll is filled with a mixture of minced meat and chopped vegetables. It is the most delicious dish you will ever have for lunch. Lumpia is surely a popular Filipino dish; after trying this dish, you will never look at another spring roll the same way again.

Inasal

Do you love roast chicken? If you do, then you have to try this dish? The Visayan island’s residents have improved this dish, and you will never taste anything like this dish. It is marinated in calamansi juice, lemongrass, and ginger. This chicken is roasted over the fire and seasoned with annatto oil. Inasal is served with soy sauce dip and rice. This dish is definitely one of those Philippines’ foods that you should not miss at all.

Pancit

Pancit is another one of the most delicious Philippines foods. It is influenced by Chinese cuisine. This is a simple dish made with a combination of vegetables, meat, and noodles. Pancit’s name is originated from the Hokkien phrase pian e sit means something conveniently cooked. It looks simple, but it is rich in flavor, and you will definitely love every bite of it.

Tocino

Tocino is the Filipino version of bacon. It is pork belly seasoned with salt, sugar, and various other spices, then it is fried. It is served as part of a traditional Filipino breakfast called tosilog. There are plenty of different versions of the silog breakfast trio that easily replaces the Tocino with other meat options. Bansilog features fried fish (Bangus), tapsilog has marinated beef (tapa).

Kinilaw

This dish is delicious seafood served up all over the Philippines. It includes slices of raw fish marinated in the vinegar along with other ingredients such as salt, chili peppers, pepper, and calamansi juice. The name kinilaw means ‘eaten raw.’ It is very similar to the ceviche; the main difference is that kinilaw depends on vinegar rather than lime juice to cook the fish. 

Sinigang

Sinigang is a sour soup that is generally made with tamarind and pork touch. Sometimes another sour fruit like green mango, calamansi, or guava is used instead of using garlic, onion, tomatoes, and various vegetables to complete the stew. It is delicious Filipino comfort food and makes a hearty hangover breakfast if you had many Pilsens the night before.

Kare-Kare

It is a thick stew made from oxtail, peanut sauce, and vegetables. This dish comes from Pampanga, which comes from north Manila, but you will find this dish served all over the Philippines. We suggest trying this dish with Lechon kawali (deep-fried pork belly) and using kare-kare sauce with the Lechon.

Sisig

You will know if someone ordered sisig, by the sound of sizzling and visible steam rising off the cast-iron skillet. It is like Filipino fajitas, and it is an extremely famous dish in the Philippines. 

Pork sisig is a common dish, and it consists of chopped pig jowls, ears, onion, liver, chili peppers, and onion delivered on a sizzling hot skillet topped with raw egg. You will need to mix the egg to cook it before the hot skillet cools down. It typically comes with a few calamansi halves so you can squeeze the juice over the top.

Humba

This dish is similar to adobo; however, it also includes tausi and banana blossoms. These ingredients give a sweeter taste to humba than adobo and result in an amazing salty, spicy, and sweet flavor. Moreover, you can find the adobo flavor applied to all types of vegetables and meat dishes, humba almost always made with pork.

Lechon

Lechon is a wide term that refers to a suckling pig; it has been seasoned with spices, skewered with a bamboo pole, and roasted over the charcoal. It is particularly popular on the island of Cebu, and you will see lots of shops with whole roasted pigs in the window. 

There are several ways to prepare pork with different cuts of meat, and there are lots of ways to cook and serve Lechon after it is finished roasting. It can be eaten with garlic fried rice or the leftovers that can be added to the dish, such as sinigang or paksiw na Lechon.

Pancit Guisado

It is another popular Filipino food, and this dish is generally just fried noodles. You will see this dish offered at every restaurant that you visit. They basically came in three varieties: pancit bihon, pancit canton, and bam-i. 

It is a tasty side dish to add to your meal but remember that the portions are often huge, so it is best to plan on eating with family-style and several other people when ordering.

Sinangag ( Garlic Fried Rice)

This dish is pretty easy and straightforward–it is simply garlic fried rice. It is cooked by frying white rice in a pan or wok with plenty of garlic. Other ingredients, such as vegetables or eggs, can be added in a similar way to Chinese-style fried rice. But in the Philippines, it is basically prepared with just garlic, so it does not overpower the flavor of the meat which is being served.

Generally, every restaurant will give garlic rice as an alternative choice to plain old white rice; however, you might have to pay a little bit more for it with the meal. 

READ MORE: Best Street Foods in the World Every Avid Traveler Should Try

Final Words

There are many famous Filipino foods to explore. If you are going to visit the Philippines, then you must try these famous dishes which we have mentioned above. There are some famous and best Filipino dishes that are delicious and seasoned with different types of spices and herbs. If you find this information useful, do share your feedback with us.